Newport Pagnell man sentenced for indecently assaulting two young girls in the 1960s

Leslie Driver, 76, of Flora Thompson Drive in Newport Pagnell was arrested on September 1 2015 after his victims disclosed to detectives the sexual abuse inflicted on them when they were children.

The horrendous acts took place at a property in Egham where Driver was staying as a lodger.

The court heard how Driver, who was a teacher and had previously taken part in charity work abroad, would force each girl to engage in sexual activity on a number of separate occasions between July 1962 and July 1963.

In a statement read out in court one of the victims talked about how the abuse she received has impacted on her life: “A life blighted by an unreasonable level of fear from the age of nine, no matter what I’ve done in between to alleviate that fear, it still underpins my life. I do not feel safe in this world. I am always bracing myself to the next challenge that inevitably comes along. I don’t experience excitement, joy or wellbeing. The best I can manage is to say, ‘right now I feel OK’ and act as if I’m joyful.

“In repressing fear and negative feelings, I have to repress all the positive ones as well. It is emotional survival.”

Driver was charged with six offences of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 14 and pleaded guilty to three of the six offences on November 6 2017 at Kingston Crown Court. He was sentenced earlier this month at Kingston Crown Court.

Detective constable Samantha Coleman, from Surrey Safeguarding Investigation Unit, said: “The actions of Driver have had a profound effect on the victims who have had to live their lives with the emotional scars inflicted on them in their childhood years.

“I would like to commend both victims for the bravery they have shown throughout the court process.

“Thanks to them, Leslie Driver will finally pay the price for the horrific crimes he committed. I hope that this result in court goes some way in giving these two women the closure they so dearly deserve to be able to finally move on with the rest of their lives.”

Also by the Milton Keynes Citizen newspaper: